Circus Dreams
by MsWikit
Summary: After a terrible accident, most of the team is injured. When Robin slips into a coma, M'gann volunteers to go into his mind and bring their friend back to consciousness. But in doing so, she must confront Robin's subconscious and the secrets within it.
1. Hope and Wait

Yes, it's another Robin story. But hey; it also focuses on M'gann!

Co-written with my friend Gracie. And yes I say co-written because she wrote the lovely beginning.

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><p>He didn't feel the arms try to shake him from the darkness as the rubble on top of him was cleared. He didn't hear the cries of plead for his safe return to consciousness. He didn't see the anguish of their faces or smell his own burnt flesh. He couldn't.<p>

The final things he did remember sensing were nothing but pain.

An explosion. Crunching bones. Blood trailing from his limp body. It hurt. Burning flesh. Cries of anguish. Oh god the pain. Punctured lung. Silence. Rubble everywhere. Lack of oxygen. Internal bleeding? Pleads and pleads of familiar voices.

Darkness.

There was no light at the end of the tunnel. There was nothing in the world of the living that could even rival what was experienced here. It was an overflow of the senses yet a complete underwhelming of them. It was the feeling that one was part of something much greater of themselves yet nothing of all. A warm ocean of an oxymoronic world that made one feel at ease. There was no pain or even a body to feel it with. There is only serenity as well as a complete absence of feeling. Why would anyone here even imagine leaving?

Then a sharp shock shook him from this world and into the world of the living but not quite. Once more he could feel he had a body. However with this body came the feeling of darkness and nothing at all.

xxxx

There was nothing but silence.

It was killing him. It was more painful than the burn on his shoulder, or his crushed foot. Wally wanted to scream at someone to say something. But he didn't. He lay quietly in his bed, looking around the Cave's infirmary. It hadn't been put to use in a long time. When they got injured on missions, it was usually nothing that a first aid kit couldn't handle. Even when Wally had broken his arm, his uncle had simply taken him to the doctor in Central City and told him that Wally fell off his skateboard. But that wouldn't work this time. It was easy to explain away a broken arm. It was much harder to explain a crushed foot, a second degree burn on his shoulder, and multiple minor cuts and scrapes across his body.

The infirmary was a spacious place with cream-colored walls and tiled floors. Most of the beds were empty. The ones on either side of him, however, weren't. Artemis lay to his right. She had burns on her arms and hands, but they weren't as bad as the one on his shoulder. He was happy for that. Artemis was a pain, but she didn't deserve to have her arms burned off. There was a long cut just above one of her eyes. And one of her ribs was probably broken, too. She wasn't able to breathe deeply when Conner had helped pull her from underneath the rubble.

On the other bed was Kaldur. Apparently they'd had to put him in a tank full of water for a brief period of time. But now he was allowed to rest in bed. Kaldur had also gotten a concussion and three broken ribs in addition to burns on his legs, but he appeared to be comfortable enough. They were all expected to make full recoveries. M'gann and Conner were barely even injured. If at all. Yes. They would all be fine.

Except one.

Wally couldn't remember much. He remembered the explosion. And then suddenly he was on the ground. His ears were ringing and his vision was swimming. There wasn't a lot of pain at first. Perhaps there was just too much shock to register everything at once. But within seconds M'gann was beside him and beating on his arm with her cape, trying to put the fire out. He didn't realize his arm had been on fire until later. But he realized his foot was hurt pretty quickly. When Conner moved the rubble, M'gann had tried pulling him to his feet. That hadn't worked out well.

He remembered looking around once he was finally on his feet. (Or really, balancing on his uninjured foot.) Conner was helping Artemis up, and M'gann was looking over the burns on Kaldur's legs with a concerned expression.

"…where's Robin?" Wally remembered asking dully. He couldn't remember where Robin had been when the blast had happened. The question was distant in his own ears; he could barely hear his voice. All he could hear was that ringing sound.

The team paused. They looked at each other. Where _was_ Robin?

Kaldur shot to his feet and ran over to where the blast had originated. It was nothing but a mass of rubble now. Concrete and dust. Then it dawned on him; Robin had been _right there_. He'd been tinkering with the weapon they'd found, trying to hack and disarm it so it could be safely transported by the League and then studied. Wally tried to dash over to help Kaldur. But in his horror he'd forgotten about his foot. He'd ended up splayed across the ground again.

After getting back up and noticing he had a terrible burn on his arm, he joined the others at the rubble pile. They were yelling for Robin. Conner was lifting the largest chunks of concrete and metal and throwing them aside. Eventually they found him. Kaldur pulled him out carefully. He was bleeding badly, his clothes were partly burned off, and he was not breathing. Wally thought Kaldur swore in Atlantian before starting CPR. After a few minutes of that, Robin began breathing again. They contacted the League. Wally fell asleep on the way back to the Cave, and when he woke up he was in the infirmary. No one had said much since he'd woken up. Though Artemis and Kaldur were both wide awake.

M'gann floated in, with Conner not far behind her.

"How is Robin?" Wally asked quickly. Artemis and Kaldur had no answers for him when he'd woken up. They'd hurried Robin off to be given urgent care. No one knew what was going on with him.

M'gann replied, "We don't know. We asked, but they wouldn't tell us anything." Artemis, Wally, and Kaldur said nothing. They only sat back, disappointed with the lack of news. The Martian girl tried to lift their spirits. "I'm sure he's fine."

_He wasn't breathing when Kaldur dragged him out. _Wally thought. But he was happy to have someone fill the silence.

They talked with Conner and M'gann a little. Then the doors opened and Black Canary walked in. All of them fell silent and looked at her expectantly.

"He's alive." She told them. The young heroes breathed sighs of relief. "His injuries are bad, but they aren't anything he can't recover from." More relief. But Kaldur simply stared at her with hard silver eyes. She was holding something back from them.

"So he'll be able to get back to training in a few weeks?" Kaldur asked. Everyone but M'gann and Conner would be out of commission for at least a week or two. Robin would most likely be even longer than that. He was only human, after all. Black Canary hesitated. Everyone was back on alert again when they realized she didn't want to give them an answer. What didn't she want to tell them?

Black Canary crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "He may. But…we don't know when exactly he'll wake up."

"What do you mean?" Artemis frowned. "I mean, if he's sleeping-"

"He's in a coma." Black Canary told them. A stunned silence fell over the team. "We don't know when…or if…he'll wake up."

The silence resounded in between them. Wally felt like he was suffocating under it. No. It couldn't be right…it had just been a simple mission…find that weapon, disarm it, bring it back for research…this wasn't supposed to happen. They couldn't lose Robin to a mission as simple as that. Wally opened his mouth to speak. Once, twice…but the silence seemed to have taken his voice.

Surprisingly, it was M'gann who found the strength to break the silence. "Can we see him?"

Black Canary hesitated. Her blue eyes looked them over. They all looked so beaten, by the accident and by the news. "Not right now. In a few days, ok? Who knows; by then he might be awake." Something in her tone told them he probably wouldn't be. But they allowed themselves to hope anyhow. Hope and wait.


	2. A Dangerous Option

And here is the second chapter of Circus Dreams! It's late, so if I missed any typos, I apologize.

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><p>They weren't allowed to see Robin until a week later. He was put in his own room to be monitored closely by the League. When they entered, they found their friend lying in a bed. He looked as if he were sleeping. His chest rose and fell steadily, as opposed to when they'd dragged him from the rubble. Batman was standing over his sidekick protectively.<p>

"Has he shown any signs of waking?" Kaldur asked. It seemed as if he only had to reach out and shake his friend's shoulder, and he would sit up and yawn.

Batman shook his head, however. "None. He hasn't moved, hasn't responded to anything."

"So when is he going to wake up?" Conner demanded impatiently.

"Maybe soon." Batman replied, looking at his sidekick. "Maybe never."

"There has to be some way to wake him up!" Conner persisted.

"A coma isn't like being asleep." Wally told him. He looked at his friend sadly. Part of him had the same urge Conner had. To grab his shoulders and shake him awake. "You can't just wake them up. It doesn't work like that. It's like being asleep, and only you can wake yourself up." He frowned. Seeing his friend like this was hard on him. "I'm…gonna go." Wally turned and walked out with the aid of his crutches.

Kaldur sighed slightly as the redhead hobbled out. He went to Robin's side. The boy set a hand on Robin's shoulder. "_Xypní̱ste, sýntoma o adelfós mou_. Awaken soon, my brother." He nodded once to Batman. "I will go speak with Wally." With that the Atlantian boy left as well to console his friend.

Artemis rubbed her arm uncertainly. Part of her wanted to sit beside Robin, to talk to him until he woke. She owed him that, didn't she? Their little adventure together against Red Inferno and Red Torpedo had struck up an odd friendship between the two of them. He was goofy and sometimes as insufferable as Wally. But she liked him all the same. Instead of sitting and talking to him, she slowly backed out awkwardly and headed down the hall. She and Wally could agree on one thing: seeing Robin weak and helpless was unsettling.

"Please wake up, Robin." M'gann floated over and kissed his forehead. "For us."

She turned in the air and floated over to Superboy. He looked ready to go, so she took his hand and left the room with him.

xxxx

The next day, M'gann tried to lift her teammates' spirits by doing some baking. She'd gotten much better at cooking. Weekends were her only time to practice, since she had schoolwork and cheerleading practice. But she'd come a long way from the blackened chunks she used to bake. As she stirred the batter, no one said anything. Wally was sitting on the counter, his crutches leaning against the wall. Artemis was filling herself a glass of water. But once she had it, she didn't drink any of it. Only swirled the water in the glass and looked at her reddened hands. Kaldur had offered to help M'gann, and was quietly cleaning off the countertop. Superboy hovered near M'gann. His arms were cross over his chest.

"…_anyone want to lick the bowl when I'm done?" _M'gann asked hopefully. She preferred to talk with her friends over the telepathic link they'd established. It made her feel more at home.

No one responded.

"_Artemis? Wally?" _M'gann asked hopefully. Wally always jumped at a chance to eat something.

"_No thanks." _Artemis replied. She sipped at the water.

"_I'm not in the mood for cookie dough. Thanks anyway, beautiful." _Wally's attempt at flirting was only half-hearted. That worried her. Though Conner didn't seem too upset by it.

Kaldur wiped off his hands with a kitchen rag and looked at the team. _"I think our minds are all elsewhere, M'gann. I know my thoughts are with Robin."_

"_Same." _Artemis agreed.

"_Ditto." _Wally seemed to admit this reluctantly.

"_I don't see why we can't just wake him up." _Conner spoke for the first time. He looked around at his teammates, frustrated. _"I mean, he looks like he's sleeping!"_

"_But he is not." _Kaldur told him firmly. _"I have no doubt that the League wishes he would wake as well. Batman especially. He has raised Robin as he would his own son." _

"_What if he doesn't ever wake up?" _Artemis asked fearfully.

"_He will!" _Wally snapped at her suddenly. He looked at her with angry green eyes. _"Don't even talk like that! He WILL wake up!"_

"_Wally, calm yourself." _Kaldur told him firmly. _"We can do nothing but hope that Robin awakens on his own, and soon."_

"_There must be a way to wake him up ourselves." _Conner said stubbornly. He looked around the kitchen at his friends. _"The League has some of the most powerful people in the world! And none of them can wake a kid up from a coma?"_

Kaldur began explaining to Conner that it wasn't possible. As he did, M'gann began to think. She stirred the batter in the bowl rhythmically and furrowed her brow. Conner was right. Surely there was someone on the League that could wake Robin. When she was younger, one of her sisters had fallen into a sleep much like Robin's. Her mother had called a _psy'inta _to come and wake hers sister. The _psy'inta _had explained that her sister was merely lost in her own mind, resulting in the unwaking sleep. All she needed was someone to find her and lead her back to consciousness. The _psy'inta _had gone into her sister's mind. Many hours later, both her sister and the_ psy'inta_ had awakened.

Perhaps…

"That's it!" M'gann cried aloud. The team looked towards her curiously. She floated over to Artemis and shoved the bowl of batter into her arms. "Stir that. I need to go find my uncle! He might be able to wake Robin!" Her team began to ask questions at this. But she ignored them and flew down the hall.

After searching the Cave, she did not find her uncle. She did, however, find Batman. He was in Robin's room, sitting beside his sidekick silently.

"Batman!" M'gann lowered herself on to the floor. "Where is my Uncle J'onn? I had an idea that he could-"

"He was called away on a mission very suddenly." Batman replied. The Dark Knight stood. M'gann took a step backwards. Batman could often be very intimidating. Sometimes he didn't even mean to be. "He told me to tell you he might not be back for some time."

Just like that, all of her hopes were crushed. Her uncle was the only one experienced enough to go into Robin's mind. But…then again…if he was able to go into Robin's mind and wake him, why hadn't he done it already? Her shoulders slumped as she realized this. "Oh…I…I'm sorry, then." She glanced at Robin. "I guess I better go, then." As she floated out and shut the door behind her, her friends caught up with her.

"There you are!" Artemis seemed out of breath. "What did you mean when you said that…?"

"It was a stupid idea." M'gann replied. She waved her hand. "Forget it."

"A stupid idea is better than no idea." Wally said as he hobbled up on his crutches. "Come on. What were you going to try to do?"

"I…on Mars, there are people that make a living by going into people's minds. It can be for different reasons. It can be a type of therapy, or to get rid of something like nightmares…once one of my sisters went into a sleep like Robin's. And my family called for one of those types of healers…she went into my sisters mind and brought her back." M'gann explained to her friends. She rubbed her arm and sighed. "I had hoped my uncle could do that to Robin. But Batman said he's gone, and might be gone for a long time. But if he_ could_ do it, he probably would have done it already…"

Wally said, "Why don't _you_ do it?"

M'gann turned and looked at Wally in shock. "What?"

"Why don't you go into his mind and bring him back?" Wally said again. "After all, you're a pretty strong telepath. We've seen what you can do before."

The entire team cringed. Yes, they remembered that well. The exercise that went horribly wrong. It had been an impressive and terrible display of M'gann's power.

"Me? I…I don't know. I've heard it can be dangerous. You have to go into their subconscious. And…sometimes a person's subconscious can be a very bad place. Especially if they've had a lot of bad experiences in life…" But M'gann was already considering it. What if she went and brought Robin back? It was the best shot they had. Besides…she doubted there was anything in Robin's mind that could be very dangerous. It wasn't as if she was going into the mind of a crazy person. She was going into the mind of a thirteen-year-old boy.

"It's Robin!" Artemis said. "I really doubt his mind can be that dangerous."

Kaldur and Wally glanced at each other, slightly doubtful now that they heard the dangers.

"Well, Robin has seen some messed up stuff before…" Wally began.

"We've all seen messed up stuff before." Artemis replied. "If he can handle it, then so can M'gann."

M'gann nodded. She was convinced now. She could do this! She could, and she would. "I'm going to talk to Batman about it."

xxxx

At first, he refused to let her do it.

"It's dangerous." Batman said firmly. "For you and him."

"Please, Batman!" M'gann begged. "I can help him!" She wanted, desperately, to try this. Her powers had put the team through a living nightmare. Now she wanted to use them for something good. "I_ know_ I can, if you give me the chance-"

"I'm not going to risk losing him. Or you. If you make a mistake-"

"I won't!" M'gann's voice was louder than she intended. Batman stood there, silent and stoic. Her voice shrank to a squeak. "I won't…"

They stood there in a prolonged silence. Batman seemed to be weighing his options. M'gann looked down at her feet, unwilling to meet his gaze. This was dangerous, she knew. But what other option did they have? There was a very real chance that Robin wouldn't wake up on his own. An option that was dangerous was better than no options, right?

Finally he said, "I will discuss it with the other members of the Justice League."

"But-"

"I'll tell you what we decide soon enough." Batman told her. He walked off, and M'gann sighed.


	3. Skeletons

Another chapter! I know it's Emergency's turn for an update, but I was excited for this chapter!

This story is going to get a little weird, and I'm going to try my best at using symbolism without being pretentious and boring.

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><p>After three days of deliberating, the League gave her permission to do it.<p>

"If we think something is wrong, we're going to wake you." Batman warned her.

The team was overjoyed that M'gann was getting the chance. The League moved a second bed into Robin's room. M'gann was to lie down on it while she was in Robin's mind. They hooked her up to various machines that were meant to monitor her heart rate, her breathing, etc. so they would know if something was going wrong. The team stopped by briefly to wish her luck. They wished they could stay, but had been ordered to keep out. M'gann's meeting with them was brief, since they could not offer anything but encouragement. After they left, it was just her, Robin, and a few of the League members.

"Be careful, M'gann." Black Canary told her. "And start when you're ready."

M'gann laid back on the bed. It was comfortable and soft. She looked over at Robin, who had remained unchanged. The Martian girl closed her eyes and started reaching out for his mind. In truth, she had no idea how she was going to get so deep into his subconscious. M'gann had never attempted anything like it before. Her consciousness lightly brushed against his mind. There were no real thoughts going through it. Just broken fragments of random images and feelings. M'gann reached deeper into his mind. Deeper and deeper…

The images disappeared. All M'gann could see was black. For a moment, she started to panic. What was going on? Was he dead? Was_ she_ dead? A falling sensation came over her. The darkness ebbed away as the ground came closer and closer to her. M'gann finally got a hold of her senses and caught herself a few inches above the ground. She let out a relieved sigh and looked around.

She was in a city. Clouds covered the night sky, and there was little light except for a few orange streetlights. There were no cars, no people. And the city itself was…odd. Parts of the city seemed to come from completely different parts of the world. She spotted the Empire State Building standing across the street from Big Ben, and the Eiffel Tower was next to a huge skyscraper with a sign written in Chinese. The city was sewn together from other cities, to create a sort of patchwork town. Building halves had been mashed together, even if the buildings weren't the same shape or size. The whole result was a bit chaotic to look at.

"Has Robin seen all these places?" M'gann wondered aloud as she floated along the sidewalk.

A light suddenly appeared in the sky, so bright it could have been the sun. It came so suddenly she had to shield her eyes. When she looked up, the Batsignal was blazing against the clouds. The light dimmed slightly after a few moments. It flickered, as a light bulb does when it is going bad. As it flickered, the image of the bat was briefly replaced with an image of a bird with its wings spread wide. The image flickered again and the bat returned.

"This is so weird…" M'gann murmured. Though what she had she expected? The subconscious wasn't a place that had rules. She continued to float down the sidewalk, but saw no sign of Robin anywhere. "Robin! Robin, where are you?"

She felt like she searched for hours, though there was no way to tell the passage of time. M'gann saw no one. The city remained empty and silent. The buildings she went inside were all empty and bare. The only thing that had changed since her arrival was the Batsignal. Every so often it would flicker, and the bird would spread its wings against the clouds before being quickly replaced again. M'gann considered trying to find the source of the Batsignal and see who had turned it on. But then she remembered where she was. In the depths of Robin's mind, there were no laws. No one had to turn on the Batsignal. It didn't even have to_ have_ a source.

Finally, though, she caught a break. When M'gann was beginning to think she was going to wander through this crazy city forever, she heard music.

It was bright and happy music. M'gann looked around hopefully. She rounded a corner and didn't see a source. But she did see something better: a kid.

The kid was sitting on the curb, drawing on the sidewalk with a piece of chalk. He was wearing a red and gold leotard with black tights. It looked a bit like something a performer would wear. Though the child seemed young. Maybe seven or eight years old at most. As M'gann watched him, he suddenly began to cough. The boy covered his mouth as his body shook, and when his hand came away M'gann thought there was blood on it. But it was difficult from a distance.

Slowly, she floated over. This person had to have some significance to Robin. Perhaps he was a brother?

"Hello." M'gann said gently.

The boy looked up at her. He had jet black hair that fell in his bright blue eyes and one of his teeth was missing. (She'd heard about how humans lost their first set of teeth as they grew older. Perhaps that was the reason?) The boy dropped the chalk and crawled backwards, away from her.

"Don't eat my brains!" he squealed. Then he turned and ran down the street.

"Wait-! No, don't go!" M'gann flew after him, glancing at his chalk drawing as she did. From what she saw, it was a crudely drawn type of bird. What type, she couldn't say. M'gann's knowledge of earth animals was limited to the ones she saw commonly. She'd tried watching National Geographic once to educate herself further, but Conner had become bored with it and asked for her to change the channel.

M'gann flew after the little boy. He turned suddenly and ran down an alleyway. His pursuer followed. The alley let out into what appeared to be a different place entirely. It was a field, and in the center was a big top tent. Colorful trailers were parked around it, with streamers hanging from them. The boy ran towards the tent. M'gann hadn't noticed, but the music had grown steadily louder. Apparently it was coming from inside the tent. The boy stumbled, coughed, and then got to his feet. The kid kept running. He pulled back one of the tent flaps. Golden light spilled out and on to the ground. It disappeared as the flap fell back into place behind him.

She flew in after him, throwing aside the tent flap. As it fell back, she landed on the ground and looked around.

There were empty bleachers set up around the tent. The music seemed to come from nowhere, though it was louder than ever now that she was inside. The little boy had vanished.

"Hello?" M'gann had to scream over the music. "Little boy? I won't hurt you, I promise!"

The boy slowly came out from under the bleachers, watching her warily. "You won't eat my brain?"

"I'm not that type of alien." She smiled sweetly at him and knelt down so that she was eye-level with him. "What's your name?"

The boy coughed and covered his mouth with his hand. He said, "Richard John Grayson."

"I'm M'gann. You can call me Megan, though." The Martian girl held out her hand. He shook it. When his hand came away, there was chalk and blood smeared on hers. She frowned worriedly. "Are you sick, Richie?"

"Don't call me Richie." The boy's expression soured. "I _hate_ being called Richie. And John. My family always calls me Dick. Everyone else does, too."

The music cut off suddenly. Silence seemed to echo through the tent. Dick looked around fearfully. A sinister laugh cut through the silence like a knife. The frightened little boy retreated back under the bleachers. M'gann followed after him slowly.

"What's going on?" M'gann asked in a whisper.

Dick peered through the bleachers. "_He's _back."

"Who is-"

There was another laugh. M'gann looked through the bleachers as well and frowned. The Joker was standing in the center ring, wearing the clothes of a ringmaster. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Joker's Circus presents to you: the Grounded Graysons!"

Five bodies fell from above and landed on the ground with a loud, terrible noise. M'gann jumped and stumbled back, falling on to her bottom. A woman's scream came from nowhere. Then there was the sound of many loud voices and rushing footsteps.

"…_oh my God, oh my God!"_

"_Are they alright? Are any of them getting up!"_

"_Someone call an ambulance!"_

"…_none of them are moving…"_

"…_911? I'm at Haley's Circus and…"_

"…_no no no no…"_

"…_like a nightmare…"_

"…_the ropes just…"_

The voices began to blend together and merge into one loud, terrified roar. M'gann put her hands over her ears in an attempt to block them out. But they were all around her and too loud to block out. She got to her feet again and looked through the bleachers. To her horror, the bodies were getting up. Their skin and muscle started to slough off. They moved jerkily and uneasily. Soon their skin had fallen off completely and they were nothing but skeletons with eyes. M'gann noted that their bones were splintered and broken. The skeletons held their arms at awkward, twisted angles or dragged one of their legs. One of the skeletons could not use its legs at all, and it clawed its way across the ground instead.

"You didn't save us…" one of the skeletons hissed.

"I reached for you…" another said.

"Why didn't you help us, bird-brain…?" said yet another.

"You should have died with us…" they all hissed. "We'll drag you back with us…we'll be a _family_ again…"

The little boy screamed and ran out. M'gann hesitated, frozen in horror. Then she turned and flew out of the tent. Away from the Joker, away from the skeletons. As she flew out she could hear the Joker laughing hysterically and the skeletons hissing their displeasure.

xxxx

She found Dick sitting back on the same street corner, finishing his drawing. Shakily, M'gann sat down next to him. "What was…"

Dick did not answer. He covered his mouth as another bout of coughing racked him. This time when he pulled his hand away, blood was oozing through his fingers. M'gann's eyes widened in horror.

"What's wrong with you?" M'gann asked. Her voice sounded a lot calmer than she felt.

"I'm dying." Little Dick said simply. "We're all dying."

"All?" M'gann repeated. Her heart was beating fast in her chest. Whether it was from the frightening circus or the realization that her friend might be slipping into death, she didn't know. Perhaps it was both? "What do you mean all?"

Dick shrugged and continued coloring his drawing.

M'gann wrapped her arms around herself. The circus had shaken her up. What had that been about, she wondered? Why was Dick coughing up blood? Did he mean that Robin was in the process of dying? Could she even help him at this point? There were so many questions she had, and so few answers. She looked at Dick and decided to try to press him for more knowledge. Though she wasn't sure how she was supposed to understand any of this. This was Robin's world; there didn't have to be any sense to it.

"Dick, what's going on? Why are you sick?" M'gann asked.

"I've been sick for a while." Dick admitted. He picked up a different color of chalk and started drawing what looked like a circus tent. "Four years. It just gets worse." He frowned and grabbed another piece of chalk. This time he started drawing what looked like the Bat symbol. "Never better, only worse…" He coughed.

M'gann said, "Dick…does the name Robin mean anything to you?"

"It's what my mama calls me." Dick said, turning his eyes towards her.

That surprised her. She stood slowly. "Robin? She calls you Robin?"

Dick coughed and nodded. The little boy seemed to forget her entirely and bent over his drawings. She watched him for a few minutes. Dick switched from one drawing to another. From the Bat symbol to some stars. From some stars to a hand. From a hand to some red flowers. From some flowers to a tombstone…occasionally he would cough and get blood on his drawings. He didn't seem to notice when he did.

Finally, M'gann floated upwards and flew away.

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><p>Sorry if I missed any typos. It's been a hell of a week, and I'm way tired.<p>

Also, any guesses as to what Little Dick represents?


	4. The Trailer

Hello again guys!

Don't have much to say, except I cannot wait for finals to be over and done with so I can just relax until after Christmas. And once again: sorry if I miss any typos. Trying my best to find them!

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><p>"How are they?" Batman asked as he walked in. He'd finally left Robin's side shortly after M'gann went under. There was no denying that he was worried about his sidekick. But he could not neglect his duties any longer. Robin had experienced no change in over a week; he thought it would be safe to leave him in the care of the League. If only for a while.<p>

Red Tornado was looking over the monitors. "Both of their heart rates went sharply upwards a little over an hour ago." He turned to look at the Batman. "M'gann's expression was one of discomfort during the heart rate spike. I believe she unearthed something unpleasant deep in Robin's mind."

"Did Robin have any physical reaction?" Batman asked, a twinge of hope in his voice. Any reaction at all would be a good sign at this point.

"Yes, actually. His right hand began to twitch, and he curled it into a fist." Red Tornado replied, making a fist with his own hand. "Otherwise there has been no change."

"How long did the spike last?" Batman looked towards M'gann. What had she uncovered there, he wondered? There were so many things that Robin had seen in his time…how much of it had stuck with him, Batman didn't know. The oddest things frightened his sidekick. Once when he was ten, he'd crawled into his bed complaining of a nightmare that Batman had abandoned him. But after Robin's first encounter with the Joker, which was nightmarish at least, he had slept without trouble.

"Approximately thirty seconds." Red Tornado responded matter-of-factly. "There have been no abnormalities since."

Batman frowned. What had M'gann found in Robin's subconscious? He knew going in that it was likely M'gann would discover some of her teammate's secrets. Robin's identity, for one. And possibly his own. His sidekick knew many secrets. Some Batman had told him directly, others he'd found out on his own. Robin had a knack for digging up information. It was a skill he would need when he eventually took up the mantle of Batman. "Let me know if anything changes. At all."

Red Tornado said, "Of course."

Batman glanced at Robin one last time, sighed slightly, and walked out.

xxxx

M'gann tried to shake off what she had seen at the circus, but it was difficult. She'd come to the conclusion that little Dick was some younger form of Robin. A slowly dying form. As to the skeletons, they bore the same last name as Dick. On Earth, that usually indicated some sort of relation. Were they the memories of his family, she wondered? M'gann considered this as she wandered through the odd city. It wasn't until she heard the singing did she come out of her thoughts.

M'gann stopped on a street corner and listened. There was definitely a voice. It sounded female, but she couldn't make out the words. When she looked around apprehensively for a source, she saw one of the circus trailers sitting in between two stony gray buildings. It looked terribly out of place. The trailer had been painted a bright blue color, but there were different designs all over it. Flowers and birds. An intricately painted tree. Two sets of children's handprints in different colors. It looked oddly homey. M'gann walked closer, still cautious after the circus incident. But she felt drawn to it anyhow. She walked up some rickety wooden stairs and opened the door slowly.

The singing grew louder as she opened the door and walked in. It was at the point where she could make out the words.

"_Sing, my little bird, sing a song for me. Sing a song for the flowers and the trees. Fly, my little bird, soar above me now. Soar high above the clouds."_

It sounded a bit like a lullaby. Though M'gann wasn't quite sure how those sounded on Earth. She closed the door behind her. The place felt…safe. It wasn't very large, but it was quaint. There was a small kitchen with an eating area. Two hammocks were hung up on opposite sides of a wall. There were three doors, which she guessed led to a small restroom and two small bedrooms. Despite the fact there was no sun outside, golden sunlight came in through the window and bathed the interior of the trailer.

"Anyone here?" M'gann opened each of the three doors. She found just what she expected: a tiny bathroom and two cramped bedrooms. How could people live in here, she wondered? There wasn't much space, however quaint the place may be. But it was empty as far as she could tell. M'gann looked around. Did Robin live here once? Was this where he and Batman lived? It was hard to picture them living in such a cramped trailer. Whatever the place was, it had to be one that Robin liked. There were good feelings all around in there.

The singing faded away, but M'gann continued to investigate. She found a large book sitting on the table. The Martian girl sat and opened it. The first page simply had _The Grayson Family _written in beautiful cursive. When she turned the page, the memories came alive.

The first photo on the first page was an old picture. It was of Dick, sitting on the shoulders of a boy that looked to be about six years older than him. Both of the boys were still very young. Little Dick was reaching up towards a tree, straining to grab a branch above his head. When M'gann picked the picture up for a closer look, the scene around her rippled and changed.

Suddenly she was sitting on a park bench, watching the two boys try to reach the tree branch. A lake sparkled behind them, and an assortment of colorful vans were parked nearby. Many people milled about. Smoking, talking, or simply stretching their legs.

"Higher, Charlie! I can't reach it yet!" Little Dick complained.

"It's not my fault your arms are too short!" The boy, Charlie, snapped. But there was some underlying affection to his tone. Or perhaps M'gann just somehow knew that there was some deep affection between these boys. A familial connection.

"Maybe your legs are too short." Dick snapped back.

Charlie rolled his eyes. M'gann noticed they were bright blue; just like Dick's. He had the same black hair as well. And the same nose. Perhaps _this_ was Robin's brother? Charlie said, "Just stand up on my shoulders. You should be able to reach it then."

Dick looked at Charlie suspiciously. "You promise you won't let me fall?"

"Cross my heart, bird-brain." Charlie said teasingly, though not unkindly.

Slowly, Dick began to stand up on Charlie's shoulders. He moved slowly and carefully, setting his hands on Charlie's head to keep his balance. The little boy reached upwards cautiously. One hand touched the branch, and he grabbed it hurriedly. Too hurriedly. His balance shifted, and he fell off Charlie's shoulders. Dick screamed, unable to hold his weight from one arm. He fell. M'gann lurched to go forward and catch him, but Charlie reached out his arms and caught him.

"Have a little faith, bird-brain." Charlie said with a grin. "I told you I wouldn't let you fall."

Her surroundings rippled again, and she was back in the trailer. M'gann set the photo down hurriedly, back on its place in the book. Though she couldn't help but look through the rest of the album. She looked over the pictures, but didn't take them from their places. One photo in particular piqued her interest. It was of Dick, holding on to a bar and wearing an outfit like the one she'd seen the coughing boy wearing earlier. M'gann hesitated briefly, then took it out of the book for a closer look.

The action had the same effect as before. Her surroundings changed. Though this time, M'gann was in the stands in a big top tent. She was about to start to panic, when she realized this setting was somehow…different. The stands were packed with people. They were laughing and smiling. The music was the same, but instead of the Joker a short, stout man walked into the center ring.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! I hope you've enjoyed the show tonight, and I would like to present to you one final act before you all go." The ringmaster said, his voice booming through the tent. "I'd like to introduce you to everyone's favorite extraordinary family: the Flying Graysons!"

M'gann finally noticed the trapeze had been set up, only there was a net underneath it. The music changed, and a man and a woman swung out on to the trapeze. Each held the bar with one hand and held the other close with the other. They let go simultaneously, did a flip, and caught the same bar underneath their knees.

"George Grayson and his wife Harriet everyone! Aren't they lovely?" The ringmaster boomed. The crowd roared their approval. M'gann smiled hesitantly and clapped her hands.

The music changed, and a boy dove out on to the trapeze. He grabbed one of the bars and used it to help his momentum. When he let go, he did two spins before grabbing the next bar and waving at the crowd.

"Their son Charlie! Hey, girls, he's single!" The ringmaster chuckled.

Once again, the music changed. Another couple swung out on to the trapeze together. They reached out and grabbed the outstretched hands of George and Harriet, who helped propel them on to the next bar.

"George's twin brother John and his wife Mary!" The ringmaster announced, waving slightly at the couple. They grinned down at him. The ringmaster turned back to the audience as the music lowered and became tenser. "And tonight, making his debut, is the final and the youngest Grayson. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for John and Mary's pride and joy: Dick Grayson!"

Dick leapt out on to the trapeze as the music exploded into a happy melody. He flipped and jumped his way to his parents, who caught his wrists in their expecting hands. The crowd cheered enthusiastically. M'gann found herself cheering right along with them, even though she fairly sure she could not be sensed in the memory at all. She was merely an onlooker, peering into the ghosts of the past. Despite her own clapping and cheering, she was getting a horrible feeling in her gut. One, two, three, four, five. Five family members. Five skeletons. The skeletons had to represent his family, somehow. But what had happened? Did they fall during the act, she wondered?

The ringmaster bowed out after the introductions had been made, and left the family to their act. Dick swung on to a platform, and his parents leapt out to do a romantic duet. His uncle and aunt joined them. The music was romantic and sweet, and their movements told a love story. It made her slightly miss Conner. Despite the fact he wasn't really the romantic type…he had his sweet moments. Their portion of the act ended and they went off the trapeze entirely. The music changed and Charlie and Dick reentered from opposite sides of the trapeze. This music was more playful, and it also told a story of two kids fighting. Their number ended when Dick swung into Charlie's outstretched arms and the two 'made up.' Afterwards their parents rejoined them on the trapeze, and Dick went off on to the platform again. She quickly saw why: the finale was done without a safety net.

The memory ended there, and M'gann found herself back in the trailer. She set the picture back into its place and closed the book. Part of her did not want to leave this place. It was warm and comfortable, and obviously filled with happy memories. But M'gann could not stay. She had to find her friend.

Before he became a skeleton in her own mind, screaming at her for not saving his life.


	5. Silence

Sorry this chapter is so short! I've been really stressed with school lately. But I'm out for Christmas in three days, so I'll get some more up soon. I'm also writing some old Digimon stuff to get me back into the swing of it. So if you want to look at some really old Digimon OCs, that'll be up eventually.

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><p>M'gann wished she'd stayed in the trailer.<p>

When she emerged, the landscape around her had changed completely. It had gone from a patchwork of cities to just Gotham. The clouds were beginning to part a bit, and a yellow moon hung in the sky. Instead of the moon's usual face, there was only a horrible slash that might have been a sinister smile. A gust of wind blew and whipped her hair around her face. There was that laugh again. The Joker's horrible laugh. M'gann turned to run back into the safety of the trailer, but it had vanished. In its place was a shadowy alleyway and nothing more.

"_Bird boy, come out now!"_ the Joker's voice echoed on the buildings and in her ears. _"No need to be frightened of your old uncle Joker!"_

There were footsteps. M'gann looked around but saw no one. "H-Hello?"

"_I've got a game for you!" _The Joker cackled. _"It's called 'Beat the Birdie Until His Brains Splatter Across the Floor!'" _

M'gann hurried down the sidewalk. She heard footsteps on metal; like someone prowling on a catwalk. The sounds made her heart beat faster.

"_Come out come out wherever you are…don't you want to play? All little kids like to play games…I'm not going to hurt you. That's just some mean lie the Bat made up to scare you."_

The Martian girl jumped into the air, flying down streets and around corners in an attempt to get away from the voice. But it followed her.

"_Come here, Robin…I want to play! I'm getting tired of hide-and-seek, but we can think of a new game…won't that be fun? Robin…GET OUT HERE, YOU LITTLE SON OF A WHORE!"_

A door opened as she flew past it. Someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside with surprising strength, kicking the door shut once she was in. A gloved hand covered her mouth. M'gann was frozen with terror. The footsteps died away, and so did the Joker's voice. When she finally yanked away and turned, she was staring at Robin, dressed in his usual attire. M'gann wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. "I'm so happy you're ok! You've been in a coma and everyone thought you were going to die and I've been looking for you-"

Robin shoved her away firmly. He turned and began to walk away, motioning for her to follow. M'gann hesitated, then walked after him.

"Where are we going?" she asked. The building they were in looked like some sort of abandoned office. There were desks covered in dust and papers lying scattered on the floor. Robin did not answer her. He simply opened a door that led into the stairwell and vanished up the stairs. M'gann had no choice but to follow him.

The stairs let them out on to the roof. She saw the moon had returned to normal, at least. Robin coughed suddenly. It was the first noise he'd made. And while it sounded bad, it didn't seem nearly as bad as little Dick's cough. Yet it filled her with fear either way. Was the younger version of her friend right? Was Robin dying completely?

"Are you ok Robin?" M'gann asked with concern. Now that she'd found him, how did she get him to wake up? "You need to wake up, alright? I…I don't know how. But you have to try."

Robin only frowned at her and walked to the edge of the building. He crouched down, surveying the empty street.

M'gann was started to get concerned. Why wouldn't he speak to her? Was he angry to see her in his mind? She went to his side. "Robin, why aren't you speaking to me? I'm sorry if you don't want me to be here…but that's all we could think to do-"

His gloved hand pulled her down and he held a finger to his mouth to silence her. Robin pointed down at the street. When M'gann looked, she saw there was blood on the sidewalk. A large amount of it. He jumped down, tucking and rolling then getting back to his feet. The boy didn't wait on her. M'gann flew after him, slightly worried. The trail of blood led them to a sinister looking building. Robin pushed open the doors. M'gann followed after him, her apprehension growing. She glanced up to read the sign above the door: _Arkham Asylum_

The doors slammed shut behind her. The lighting was dim inside. Spotlights came on around the room, illuminating cells. In each cell was a different criminal. M'gann recognized Two Face, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Penguin, Killer Croc…and some she didn't even recognize. All of them were the villains Robin had faced, she surmised.

"Here birdie!" Poison Ivy crooned. "Poor baby, Bats never lets have you attention, does he? He keeps it all for himself…"

"I'll feast on you, bird boy, feathers and all!" Killer Croc roared and slammed his fists against the bars of the cell.

"Come to me, little boy." A man in a top hat reached through the bars. "You're not too old to have a little tea party with the Mad Hatter, are you? Of course not…come to me, little one!"

Robin's face remained stony as he stood there, looking around at his enemies. The people who had hurt, hunted, and almost killed him every night since he was nine. Yet he did not seem to care. The mission was over for him. Then suddenly he began to cough violently. It brought him to his knees. Many of the criminals began to laugh and jeer. M'gann knelt down beside her friend and tried to speak with him.

"Are you ok? Robin, look at me-" M'gann pleaded.

"Never again." Robin gasped. "Can't become him…never again…" He coughed again and collapsed completely.

"No! Robin, don't!" M'gann shook him, but he disappeared. She waited for the environment around her to dissolve. Tears filled her eyes. She'd failed…he was dead, and soon this would all be nothing but emptiness…

She waited.

Yet nothing happened.

The criminals jeered and laughed at her. They went on threatening. None of them seemed to notice Robin's disappearance. She wiped the tears from her face and looked around confusedly. Suddenly she remembered the little boy that sat on the curb drawing in chalk. He was Robin, only a younger incarnation of him. But he wasn't who she was looking for. Perhaps this Robin wasn't who she was really looking for? Maybe he was just another small part of Robin's identity. A part of his identity that had already died…

She looked back at the spot where Robin had been. In his place was a black cowl, similar to the one Batman wore. M'gann picked it up hesitantly and looked it. After a moment, she dropped it back on the floor and looked around for an exit, trying to annoy the villains' screams and taunts. M'gann spotted a pinprick of light far above her and flew towards it. She passed rows and rows of illuminated cells full of the people that Robin had fought, caught, and imprisoned. Eventually the light grew bigger and revealed itself to be a circular hole in the ceiling. When M'gann flew through it, she was back on the street. Confused, she looked at the hole. It seemed to be an uncovered manhole. The type that was usually connected to the sewers.

_Nothing has to make sense here. _M'gann reminded herself as she flew away.

The encounter left her confused. She always assumed that when she found the boy who looked like the Robin she knew, her job would be done. But maybe it wasn't quite that simple. Different aspects of Robin's personality were personified in his subconscious. She'd pieced together that much. But she hadn't considered that his identity as Robin was only part of who he was. And silent boy she met seemed to only be a part of his identity as Robin. It was enough to make her head hurt. Perhaps that was why_ psy'inta _trained for years. Understanding and navigating someone's mind could be complicated and confusing. People weren't simple; M'gann realized that now. And Robin, a person who seemed to hide his true identity almost constantly, was anything _but_ simple.

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><p>I feel like Robin needs a tad bit of explanation in this chapter.<p>

Basically he's supposed to represent Robin's 'drive' and his desire to be like Batman. Dark, serious, and a silent protector for the city of Gotham. But after Failsafe, that drive was 'killed.'


	6. Tick Tock

Sorry this chapter took so long! I haven't been able to get myself to write recently. I was pretty busy what with the holidays, and then my birthday. (But hey! I got my license today!) I hope you all had a merry Christmas and had a fantastic New Years!

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><p>She could hear his laughter coming from the down the street.<p>

M'gann flew over warily. She was beginning to learn that anything in Robin's mind could be dangerous. Even the smaller version of him she'd just stumbled upon. He was swinging from building to building, throwing in flips and spins whenever he felt it necessary. M'gann watched him for a few minutes. She couldn't help but smile slightly. This Robin must have been what he was like when he first took up the mask. His costume looked a bit different than what she knew it as. His front was still red with the trademark 'R' on it, but his cape was completely yellow and he wore bright green shorts. The boy finally noticed her and looked over at her. He swung his way on to the top of streetlight and sat down on it.

"You're M'gann." Little Robin said as he swung his legs back and forth.

She nodded, slightly surprised that he recognized her. How could a young version of Robin know her, when she'd only met him this year? Or perhaps this Robin represented another part of her friend's character. "Yes, I am."

The little Robin giggled. "You're pretty. But you're green, too."

"There's nothing wrong with being green." M'gann said, slightly indignant.

"It's not easy being green." Robin agreed. Then he laughed. He leaned back and hung upside down from the street light, holding on to it with his knees. "What're you doing here?"

M'gann thought this Robin acted more like the one she knew. Immature and laughing at jokes only he seemed to understand. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "I'm…I'm looking for you. To wake you up." Would explaining this to a part of his personality do anything, she wondered?

The boy laughed. "Like Sleeping Beauty. Are you going to kiss me, princess?"

"Why didn't I think of that?" M'gann smiled a bit. Even if this Robin could be annoying, it was a big step up from the silent form of Robin that had died in front of her. She hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Hello Megan!"

Robin dropped down from the streetlight. He caught himself in a handstand before leaning over, rolling, and getting to his feet. The little boy turned towards her with a grin. "A kiss from you wouldn't work. You're not a princess. You're not even a green Martian!" He laughed to himself as she gasped.

"How did you-"

"You don't think your secrets are safe, do you?" Little Robin grinned at her, almost devilishly. It frightened her slightly. "You can see us, and we can see you. Give and take. Quid pro quo, Clarice." He laughed again, seeming to enjoy some private joke with himself. "It works both ways."

M'gann felt her skin start to crawl. Robin could see into her mind as well? She hadn't realized that. While she was here, learning his secrets and his darkest memories, his mind was absorbing her own secrets. It was a possibility that she'd never even thought about. "Wait…you know who I am. You know what I'm trying to do…you're sentient. More than the others. Are you-"

"Nope." Little Robin said with a smile. (When was he _not _smiling, she wondered?) He pointed down the street. "It's down there." The smile faded suddenly. He looked around warily at some unheard noise. Little Robin looked at her again, but this time his face was serious. "Time is running out."

Before the sentence was finished, there was a low rumbling sound. The ground underneath M'gann's feet began to quiver and shake. The buildings behind her began to crumble and fall into black nothingness. Little Robin pulled a grappling hook off of his belt and fired it. In an instant he was gone, running far ahead of her across the tops of buildings. The skyscrapers that stood at attention along the street began to groan as they slowly leaned over and began to collapse on to each other. M'gann didn't remember screaming or starting to fly away. But she found herself soaring through the air anyhow. The entire city seemed to be collapsing from every single side. The clouds that had covered the sky suddenly broke into a terrible storm. Lightning struck buildings and sent them shattering into pieces. Rain struck M'gann's face and the wind sent her tumbling through the air like a ragdoll. It slammed her into the crumbling ground and forced her to run on foot. But the wind wasn't done with her. It kept pushing her back towards the edge, trying to force her to fall.

M'gann felt her heels go over the edge and pin-wheeled her arms in a vain attempt to keep herself from falling-

The wind stopped.

The driving force that was moving her backwards was suddenly gone. Without it she leaned back over the edge again, then fell forwards on to her stomach. The rain softened to a light mist and the lightning became only dull rumbles of thunder.

Breathing hard, M'gann glanced back at the edge. The majority of the city had vanished into its depths. Yet pieces of the city were slowly floating back up in large chunks. Part of a street here, a street lamp there. But only a small circle of Robin's subconscious was remaining. There were a few older looking buildings with fearsome gargoyles. But here the city gave way to the country. Sidewalks gave way to grass and trees. And a long, twisting road led up a grassy hill to a huge mansion. The lights were on inside and the windows glowed with golden light.

It seemed to be in the center of everything. Perhaps the collapse had been leading towards it. And that mansion, whatever it was, was the very essence of Robin's mind.

If that mansion went, so did he.

M'gann took to the air unsteadily and began flying towards it.

xxxx

"Jesus Christ." he said. Or at least, he thought he said it.

Wally wasn't really sure what had just happened. Everything happened so fast. Like a blur. He didn't remember thinking, just _doing_. His head was in his hands when Artemis came over and handed him a bottle of water. He took it without a word and gulped half of it down.

_My hands are shaking. _Wally realized. _Why are my hands shaking?_

In truth, his whole body was shaking. After the incident in Robin and M'gann's room, Black Canary had taken him back to the living room of the cave. The team had followed in a sort of shocked silence. Kaldur had said something that Wally didn't really hear. Something about acting quickly and being a real friend and blah blah blah…the young speedster didn't hear any of it. He was still trying to piece together what had happened. It was like the explosion all over again. His mind was jarred. Not thinking right. The pieces were all there and in the right places, but he couldn't see the finished puzzle.

The second half of the water bottle went down his throat. He crushed the plastic in one freckled hand and tossed it away without a second thought. Artemis went to pick it up without complaint.

Slowly things started to make more sense. They'd gone to check on Robin and M'gann. Wally, Artemis, Conner, and Kaldur. Vaguely he remembered Roy and Zatanna being there earlier, but now they were absent. They must have left before it happened, Wally deduced. That made sense…

He remembered opening the door and seeing Batman there. No big surprise. When the Bat didn't have other work to do, he was at Robin's side. They asked how they were. No changes. No big surprise there, either. Occasionally one of them would do something. M'gann would sometimes make faces of confusion or even fear. Robin would occasionally move his hands. Curl them into fists or hold on to the sheets.

No changes.

Situation normal.

They stayed. They talked to each other. Artemis wondered how much longer they would be out. Conner sat beside M'gann, holding her hand in his own. Kaldur talked to Batman and Wally. He assured them they were sure to wake up soon. After all, M'gann had been under for almost two weeks now. Surely things would begin to look up soon. Wally had begun to feel uncomfortable again and wanted to leave the room. Seeing his friends so helpless made him squirm. The thought that was lurking in their minds-that they would _never_ wake up-was beginning to seem like a very real possibility.

Right when Wally was about to excuse himself with some half-assed excuse, a thousand monitors began screaming at once.

Robin's heart rate suddenly dropped dramatically. His breathing stopped. Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, and Red Tornado hurried in to help assist Batman. Red Tornado tried to usher the four of them out. Conner was screaming for M'gann, despite the fact her vitals had yet to become dangerously low.

The thinking stopped and the doing took over.

Wally had watched a lot of ER dramas with his mother as a kid. She had this big chair that would rock back and forth. And every night when their shows came on, Wally would crawl into her lap and watch it with her. It was the only time she could get him to stay still. He would curl up and watch the doctors rush to save the lives of various people. Wally remembered the defibrillator being used fairly often in those shows. He remembered how it could get a person's heart beating again. Long enough for the doctors to save that person…

The League had many things stockpiled in the room, just in case they would be needed on a moment's notice. And somehow Wally ended up at Robin's bedside, defibrillator paddles in his hands. He remembered that Robin's chest jumped upward in a way that almost physically sickened him. When the monitors had stopped shrieking, Wally fell into shock. He felt the pain from his injured foot and allowed Black Canary to help him to the living room. The speedster had collapsed into one of the chairs as Kaldur leaned his crutches on the wall nearby for him.

Ever since his world was comprised of a dull, shocked silence and a throbbing pain in his foot. Wally wasn't even supposed to walk on it yet. So his sprinting had probably set back his recovery date by a week or two, at least.

"…you saved his life, you know." Artemis said finally. She leaned on the wall next to his crutches. "And M'gann's, by extension."

"I know." Wally managed to say. He tasted bile in the back of his throat. His best friend…his best friend had almost died…what would have happened if he'd died for good? Would M'gann wake up? Or would she do just what they expected and follow him into death? He thought of how Robin's chest had jerked and swallowed.

"So why are you so upset?" Conner demanded.

Wally's hands were still shaking. He watched them with mild fascination. It was only when Conner repeated the question did he really hear him. "Robin once told me that is something every happened…if he ever was put on life support, or something…he told me he would want someone to pull the plug."

"_I'm a boy." _Robin told him once. _"I want to live as a boy. Not a…a vegetable."_

"What if…what if I….what if he's not waking up, and I just…" Wally swallowed again. Kaldur set a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I believe it was you who said, 'Don't even talk like that. He _will_ wake up.'" Kaldur said with a gentle smile.

Artemis put her hands on her hips. "Yeah. I can't get away with talking like that, and neither can you."

"We must trust in M'gann. And trust that they will both wake up and come back to us." Kaldur met Wally's green eyes. The speedster nodded once and put his head in his hands.


	7. An Accident

So sorry if I missed any typos in this chapter. I have a fever/I'm on a high because my team just won the national championship!

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><p>M'gann stared up at the mansion, her hand inches away from the doorknob. Part of her did not want to go in there. She had a feeling that Robin's darkest secrets were hidden away in that building. What she had seen already-his dead family, the villains he'd faced, his memories from his childhood-would be nothing in comparison. M'gann was sure of that. She didn't want to go in, but she had to. Robin would be in the mansion, stored away with his secrets. That much she was sure of.<p>

She took a deep breath and opened the door. It swung open easily and let her into the mansion's foyer. A crystal chandelier hung over her head and illuminated the room nicely. There were doorways on either side of her that led to different rooms and two gently curving staircases in front of her.

"Left, right, or up…" M'gann murmured to herself and looked around. She chose to go right and ended up walking into a living room type area. The only light in this room came from the marble fireplace. It cast dark shadows across the bookcases and lavish furniture. Above the fireplace was a portrait of Dick and a man. Dick looked older than the other incarnations of him that she'd seen. In fact, he looked about the same age as he was now. The man wasn't one that M'gann recognized. He had a hand on Dick's shoulder, and both were smiling slightly. Who was the man with him, she wondered? A distant relative? Or perhaps Robin was adopted? There was no such thing as adoption on Mars. You just got handed off to a family member. But apparently, on Earth, they had a different way of doing things. If a child's parents died and there were no family members that could take care of them, they were given to complete and total strangers. The very idea had horrified M'gann when she'd first seen it on television, and she'd gone to her uncle not believing that it was true.

_Is this man Batman? _M'gann wondered suddenly. She'd never seen Batman without his mask on. But the man certainly seemed stern enough to be Batman, even though he was smiling…

She tore herself away from the portrait and the room. She continued on into what looked like a game room. There were old pinball machines, arcade games, and a large flat screen TV mounted in front of a comfortable couch and two beanbag chairs. It wasn't hard to deduce who spent the most time in this room. M'gann smiled slightly as she opened the next door. It let it into a dimly lit hallway. Apprehension suddenly filled her. She got a bad feeling from this hallway. It felt…lonely. Isolated.

And suddenly the skeletons were there. They seemed to appear out of nowhere at the end of the hallway. If at all possible, they looked worse than when she'd seen them in the circus tent. Rotting meat still clung to some of their splintered bones and their eyes were filled with malice. They came staggering towards her. Limping and jerking, trying to walk on their ruined limbs. M'gann screamed and jumped into the air, flying backwards until she hit the wall. Fear was taking over. Something horrible would happen if the skeletons grabbed her. They would drag her down into death with them, they'd hurt her, they'd make her pay for not dying with the rest of her family-!

M'gann screamed and held her hands up, hitting the skeletons with a blast of energy. They stumbled slightly, grunting. Then they kept coming towards her.

"No no no no…" M'gann whimpered.

"We'll be a _family_ again-"

xxxx

The sound of the monitors woke Conner up.

He'd fallen asleep in a chair while sitting at M'gann's bedside. One of her monitors was beeping and showing her heart rate had increased. Conner frowned and stood up. He yelled for someone to come help and looked worriedly at M'gann. Her expression had turned to one of fear. She started tossing and turning, almost ripping out one of the IVs in her arm. Conner grabbed her hand to keep her from hurting herself. His blue eyes grew large and he suddenly collapsed, falling face-first on to the floor.

Artemis came running in. Wally limped in after her, hindered by his crutches.

"What's going on-….Conner?" Artemis hurried over to Conner and knelt beside him. She began to shake his shoulder, trying to get him to stir. "Conner? Conner!"

"Oh, great…" Wally muttered under his breath. Kaldur hurried in behind him. "Supey fainted."

Kaldur narrowed his silver eyes at Conner, then looked at M'gann. "…I don't think he fainted, my friend…"

When Artemis heard his words, her breath caught in her throat. "You don't think she…on accident…she pulled him in…no. No, go get Batman. This wasn't part of the plan!" She looked fearfully at her remaining teammates. "We should never have let her do this! Now we're going to lose her and Robin _and_ Conner!"

Kaldur moved forward. "Artemis, calm yourself. We are not going to lose any of them."

"Yeah, you said it yourself." Wally limped over.

The young archer shook her head. "No. No, we can't let this go on. I'm waking her up!"

Wally's green eyes grew larger. "No, you can't! She's Robin's only hope!" He grabbed one of her arms, supporting himself with one crutch.

Artemis reached out and grabbed M'gann's arm with one hand. She tried to shake Wally off, but his grip on her arm was strong. She turned her attention back to M'gann. "M'gann, wake up! Wake up! You have to-"

Without warning, they both collapsed. Right on top of Conner.

"…this is going to be a problem." Kaldur sighed. He backed out of the room and ran down the hall, calling for Batman.

xxxx

Conner opened his eyes. His vision swam as he slowly sat up. The young alien looked around to try to get his bearings. To his shock, he wasn't in the Infirmary anymore. He wasn't even in the _cave_ anymore. Conner had woken up in a dimly lit hallway. A familiar scream drew his attention to the other end of the hall. M'gann was crouched in the corner, shaking with fear. A group of mangled skeletons was almost upon her. They were stretching out their cracked and twisted limbs to grab her. Conner yelled and ran at them without hesitation. He slammed into the group, causing two to shatter and fall into a pile of bones. The others he took out with two swift punches and one stomp. (One of them was crawling its way across the ground, for whatever reason.) M'gann stared up at him, stunned.

"How did you…they didn't…whenever I…how…" M'gann stuttered.

Before he could answer, (or even try to figure out an answer) something fell on top of him and knocked him on to all-fours.

"….oh shit."

That was all Wally could say. That was all any of them could say, once Artemis and Wally had gotten off of Conner's back. The four of them looked at each other in a stunned silence. None of them were sure what to do or what to say.

"…how did we _get_ here! Where are we?" Artemis finally exploded, shattering the silence into a million pieces. She looked around frantically in hopes that she might somehow recognize where they were. Or, even better, that she wasn't where she thought she was. "This makes no sense!"

M'gann slowly got to her feet. She leaned against the wall, pressing one hand to her head. "I must have…I must have brought you in here by accident…"

"…I was holding your hand." Conner said suddenly. "In the desert, when we'd lost our memories…I held your hand while you were fighting, and it was like you'd just pulled me into your mind."

She nodded slowly, thinking back to when he'd helped her fight. "I'm so sorry…I didn't mean for this to happen! I was freaking out because the skeletons…it felt like…" M'gann's legs felt weak. If she hadn't been leaning on the wall, she was certain she would have collapsed. "I was feeling Robin's fear…he's terrified of those…of those things." She nudged one of the bones gingerly with her foot. Conner set a comforting hand on her shoulder. M'gann hugged him gratefully, not caring if Wally saw. Though the speedster was too intent on looking around to notice.

Wally walked down the length of the hall, running his hand along the wall. "He told me about this hall. When we were younger…he said he had nightmares about this one hall. I think this is the one, anyway." He turned back to the others. There was a fascinated gleam in his eyes. The fear and shock that the others were feeling was not present in Wally's mind. This was perfect for him. Now he didn't have to feel useless. He could find his friend and maybe learn a few things about the human subconscious along the way. And the best part: his foot wasn't injured in Robin's mind. Which was definitely a perk.

"So…what is this place? His home or something?" Artemis asked as she glanced around gingerly.

"Yes." M'gann said as she began to recover. "At least, I think so."

"It is." Wally confirmed.

She floated ahead of the group, feeling the need to lead the group out of the hallway. "How long have I been under?"

"Two weeks." Conner answered immediately. "And Robin almost died the other day."

This news shocked M'gann. Two weeks? It didn't even feel like two hours! Only then did it occur to her that time might not pass the same way in Robin's subconscious. She could have been in here for years and not have ever realized it. That thought was enough to frighten her. "Robin almost died?" She thought back to the collapse. It made sense, now that she looked at it. As did the storm that accompanied it. Robin's mind had been shutting down.

"Wally saved him." Artemis said, glancing at the redhead. He seemed to be uncomfortable about this, because he suddenly became very interested in the rug on the floor.

Conner was right behind her as she led them into a new room. This area, she assumed, was their dining room. It was fairly large and spacious. There was a long mahogany table that could have easily seated fifty people. A dark red table cloth was thrown across it. Though only three places were set at the very end of the table.

"So Robin's a rich kid." Artemis said, frowning slightly as they walked along the table. "Speaking of Robin…where is he?"

M'gann stopped at the end of the table to look at the three places set. One for Dick and his adoptive father, maybe? But who was the third for? "I…I don't know. I know he's in here somewhere. This is the very center of his mind. I think this is where he stores everything really important. From his identity to his most secret dreams." She frowned slightly and picked up one of the glasses that was set out. Suddenly, she seemed to get an idea. The Martian girl looked at Wally. "You know him best, Wally. If Robin is in this house somewhere, he'll be in the room that means the most to him. Do you know what that is?"

"That'd have to be the sitting room on the top floor." Wally replied. "He told me that's where he slept until he was ten."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Why not in his actual room?"

"Too big, too dark, too empty." Wally answered simply.

"And he told you all of this?" She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.

Wally shrugged. "He tells me lots of things."

M'gann grinned. Finally, there was a lead. Before she'd been wandering aimlessly in hopes that she would eventually stumble upon Robin. And it occurred to her now that she might have wandered aimlessly for years until she found him. But now she knew where to look, and she had help.

They would find Robin, she knew. They would find him and bring him home.


	8. Bird Cages

Sorry this took so long to get up, guys! These last couple of months have been hard on me. But hopefully I've got everything sorted.

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><p>"So, how long have they been discussing this?" Red Arrow stood beside Kaldur with his arms crossed over his chest. He was still on shaky ground with the League. But when he'd heard about the situation from Kaldur, he came over to offer his support to his friend. "Have they even listened to your input at all?"<p>

"No." Kaldur said, frowning. Ordinarily he completely trusted the mentors to make the right decisions. But this particular matter was different. This involved his entire team. He would have thought that they would at least consult him on the fate of his friends. But so far they had just been debating and arguing among themselves. "They've been talking like this for hours. Many of them want to try to wake M'gann, as they believe it will awaken the others as well. Except…"

"Except for Robin." Red Arrow finished. "You realize, Kaldur, that M'gann might be his only shot at waking up."

Yes, Kaldur knew. But he didn't want to say it aloud. Not even Batman could think of another way to wake him. So if they found a way to bring M'gann and the others out of Robin's subconscious, he might never wake up. It hurt to think like that. Over the months, Robin had become like a little brother to him. The last thing he wanted was to have someone who was so full of energy be comatose for the rest of their life. Especially if that someone was one of his best friends. "Robin may yet wake up on his own…"

"If it weren't for Wally, he'd be dead by now." Red Arrow reminded him. "If M'gann is woken up before she can do anything for him, he's going to die. And if he dies before we can get them out…"

"I know the risks." Kaldur replied shortly. He didn't want to act this way towards Red Arrow. They were long-time friends. That was why he'd wanted to call him to Mount Justice. Some part of him had considered simply going to Atlantis to tell Tula and Garth about the fiasco. They would make him feel better. But he knew Red Arrow was trying to help. Just in his own way. "I know them, and so do they." He nodded towards the League. "And yet…"

"Yet…?" Red Arrow looked at him questioningly.

"I do not think that M'gann will awaken until the job is done." Kaldur said grimly. "Anyone who tries to wake her in this state runs the risk of getting pulled in themselves. The only one who might have a chance is Martian Manhunter, but he is unable to return for a few more days at least." No one had told him what type of mission M'gann's uncle was on. All he knew was that it was an important one that required all of his attention. "If one so much as touches M'gann at the wrong moment, they could find themselves trapped in Robin's subconscious."

Red Arrow was frowning at him. "So what do you propose we do?"

"Send in someone who knows Robin better than anyone." Kaldur replied simply.

For a moment, his old friend simply stared at him. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

The Atlantian boy nodded once. "We should send in Batman."

xxxx

"This house is way too big." Artemis said as they climbed yet another staircase. "Does Robin have like a million brothers and sisters or something? Why else would they need a gigantic house?"

M'gann floated ahead of the group, not paying attention to the conversation behind her. She was trying to navigate her way through the manor. But they'd quickly discovered that the mansion became more confusing and nonsensical. One hallway was flipped completely upside down so that they were walking on the ceiling. They stumbled upon one hallway that seemed to stretch out forever with doors lining both walls. When they opened the doors they saw bits and pieces of old missions. They were like the photographs in the album, only the scene played out entirely in the little room. Some of the doors were designed differently from the others. These memories, they found, were usually more significant in some way.

M'gann had opened one that was painted dark red and black. When she opened it, the room was empty. But the scene quickly rippled and changed. Suddenly the room looked like the rooftop to some type of skyscraper. A man with silver hair was staring at Batman in fear as he loomed over him.

"Ok, ok! You got me! I sabotaged the finale!" the odd man cried. "I'll let you take me to the police, I'll confess everything. Just don't hurt me."

"I'm not going to hurt you." Batman replied coldly. He was staring at the man with obvious contempt and disgust. M'gann shivered. The thought of ending up on the receiving end of that gaze made her realize just how intimidating Batman was.

"Oh, thank you-" The man started to speak again, a relieved smile breaking out over his face.

"-but _he_ will." Batman interrupted him. With a nod, he acknowledged a small figure that M'gann hadn't noticed before. Apparently the criminal hadn't noticed him either. The small figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a nine-year-old version of Robin. He stared at the man with such hatred that M'gann wasn't sure who frightened her more. Batman or his protégé.

The man laughed involuntarily. "What the hell is this? He's just a-"

Robin delivered a bone-fracturing kick to the man's jaw and knocked him over. The beating that followed was slightly terrifying to watch. M'gann had never seen Robin so overcome with rage. He kicked and punched the man without mercy or hesitation. Finally, when the man was barely conscious, Batman pulled Robin back.

"Feel any better?" Batman asked calmly.

Robin was trying to wipe the tears from his face. "No."

"That's what I thought." Batman set a hand on his shoulder. "You go home and rest. I'm taking him to Gordon."

Robin nodded once. He looked at the beaten man before running to the edge of the building and jumping. The young boy allowed himself a moment of free fall before pulling a grappling hook off of his belt and firing it another skyscraper. The memory dissolved then, leaving the room empty.

M'gann closed the door with a frown.

"_Damn_." Artemis was standing behind M'gann, looking stunned. "That was…kind of brutal…"

Wally grabbed both of them by the arm and began to lead them away. "Let's just keep moving."

They climbed a flight of stairs that seemed to spiral upwards into oblivion. When they reached the top they were in a similar hallway. Wally walked by all the doors with a determined expression, not wanting to go rooting in his friend's memories. Artemis, however, couldn't resist the temptation. Only now did she even begin to realize how little she actually knew about her friend, and she wanted to know more. She stopped to open one of the doors.

The memory materialized in a similar fashion as before. At first, it was simply an empty room. Then it changed into a courtroom. The defendant was sitting at a table with his lawyers. Artemis realized that the man on trial was the one that Robin had so brutally beaten. Most of his injuries appeared to have healed nicely.

"The prosecution calls Richard Grayson to the stand." A lawyer said as he stood up.

A nine-year-old boy got to his feet and walked towards the stand. His black hair was combed neatly back and he was wearing a suit. Cameras turned towards him as he sat down. In his position, Artemis would have been terrified. But the kid was holding his head high and ignoring the cameras.

"Richard," A prosecutor said as he approached the stand, "how old are you?"

"Nine." Richard replied.

"How old was your cousin John?" The prosecutor asked.

The boy shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but answered the question. "Fourteen."

"Nine and fourteen." The man repeated. He looked towards the defendant with a frown. "A nine-year-old and a fourteen-year-old boy. Two normal,_ innocent_ children." Now he turned his attention back towards Richard. "Richard, did you see Mr. Haley talking to anyone after your first night in Gotham?"

Richard nodded once. "After our first show…I went to see Mr. Haley because I wanted to ask him if I did well enough to be in the finale next time. And when I got to his office he was talking to someone."

"Did you know what they were saying?"

"The man said, 'Gotham's dangerous. Nice little circus like yours is filled with decent folk. It would be a shame if something happened to them. But I'm willing to offer you protection for just ten grand.' And Mr. Haley told him that we didn't need protecting. Cause we didn't. But the man said that he was making a really generous offer and that if he didn't pay up we'd probably run into trouble…" Richard shifted in his seat again. "Then Mr. Haley told him to get out and he did."

"Can you identify the man that Mr. Haley was talking to?" The prosecutor asked.

Richard nodded.

"Is he in this courtroom?" The prosecutor turned towards the defendant with a smirk.

"Yes."

"Point to him, if you please." The prosecutor didn't face Richard.

Richard pointed at the defendant. "It was him."

"So you saw this man, Tony Zucco, threatening Mr. Haley in an attempt to get ten thousand dollars?" The prosecutor asked.

"Yeah." Richard said. He was looking at Zucco and frowning. "I did."

"No further questions." The prosecutor walked back towards his team with a small smile. He sat down and the memory dissolved.

xxxx

"No disrespect, Bats, but have you gone absolutely _crazy_?" The Flash said as he frowned at him. "All of our sidekicks are in comas, except for Kaldur! If we lose you too-"

"The only other option is calling back Martian Manhunter to wake M'gann up. And as he is off world, there is no telling how long it could take him to return." Batman replied calmly. "It is the only other option. Besides not doing anything."

The Flash crossed his arms over his chest. "Well we can't do nothing, either. But it's completely insane!"

Red Arrow stepped forward. "If anyone can wake up Robin, it's the person who raised him. The least we can do is have Batman find a way to keep Robin going. You can call back Martian Manhunter and when he returns he can wake up M'gann and pull them all out."

The other League members looked at each other, weighing their options. They weren't sure if they wanted to run the risk of losing one of their key League members along with their sidekicks. But the look Batman had on his face swiftly informed them that, whether they liked it or not, he was going in. They sighed and conceded defeat. Kaldur saw his opportunity and pounced on it.

"I would like to go under as well." Kaldur said swiftly. All eyes turned to him for the first time in hours. "They are my teammates, my friends. As leader it is my responsibility to go after them." His request was, formally, addressed to all of the League members present. But his silvery blue eyes were locked on Batman and Aquaman. Aquaman was his beloved king and mentor. He would want his permission before doing something so dangerous. And Batman was, ultimately, in charge of the team. Their permission was all that really mattered. "I know the risks. But all that matters to me is their safety and what I can do to ensure it."

Batman and Aquaman exchanged looks. They were clearly debating what they should do. On one hand, Kaldur was the leader of the team. Should he not at least be included in this, when it now involved his entire group of friends? But was it worth the risk? If Kaldur went under, that would be the entire team. If something went wrong…

After what seemed to be a completely silent conversation they had an answer for him.

"Only if you follow my orders. _Exactly _as I give them." Batman said sternly.

"Agreed." Kaldur said, nodding once.

xxxx

"This place is getting more confusing the farther we go." Conner growled as he opened a door that led into the same hall they were on, but with the colors inverted.

"That might mean we're getting close." M'gann suggested optimistically. The theory made sense in her head, at least. The closer you got to the center of someone's mind, the more cryptic and chaotic their subconscious became. She turned on to a hallway that was some kind of odd aviary. There were trees and golden bird cages. Leaves and pine needles littered the carpet. All of the birds were red-crested robins. At the center of the hallway a giant bat was sleeping upside down. The group ducked past it quietly, though they didn't think it would be benevolent if woken.

The bird hall seemed to melt away behind them once the last person was out. In front of them was what seemed to be a library and an art gallery. Books were crammed on to tall, elegant shelves. Paintings were hung on each of the walls. A low humming noise filled the air, like the buzz of a crowd. As they began walking through the room to find the exit, they realized that what they were hearing were bits and pieces of conversations.

_"…of course…"_

_"…you're too young, maybe next year…"_

_"…be careful!"_

_"…Master Richard, if you please…"_

_"…another nightmare…"_

"Hey, look." Artemis elbowed Wally and nodded to one of the paintings on the wall. A twelve-year-old Kid Flash was standing in front of a ten-year-old Robin. Wally stared at the scene in amazement. He remembered this moment. Some instinctual part of him told him that he needed to get Artemis away from the painting. This was their secret and theirs alone. But he let her remain and they watched the memory together.

"I want to tell you something." Robin said. He glanced around warily to make sure no one was around to overhear.

"What is it?" Kid Flash asked, immediately curious.

Little Robin pulled off his mask, revealing his bright blue eyes. Kid Flash was stunned. He said, "I though Batman-"

"What Batman doesn't know won't hurt him." Robin replied. "I trust you." His face broke out into a wide grin. "My name is Richard John Grayson. But everyone calls me Dick."

Artemis turned towards Wally, frowning slightly. "Wait. You _knew_ Robin's secret identity? I mean, I guess it's not any of my business. But it seems kind of like he trusts and likes you more than the rest of us."

Wally shrugged slightly. "It's not that he doesn't trust you guys. He does. But the more people that know, the more likely the chance that someone will slip up in front of Batman. Then Rob will really get it."

She looked surprised. "Wait, so Batman doesn't even know you know?"

"Nope." Wally replied with a wide grin.

There didn't seem to be any way out of the library. There were no doors, no windows. No anything. It reached the point where M'gann began pulling books off of the shelves as if she were looking for some sort of secret exit. This was how she discovered that the books were also filled with memories. She opened one and watched as a nine-year-old Dick walked through the dark halls of Wayne Manor to another bedroom. He opened the door cautiously and stood there, clutching a toy elephant underneath his arm.

"What is it Dick?" A man on the bed asked tiredly.

"I had a bad dream." Dick said, his voice small.

The man sighed. "Come on then."

Dick hurried over and hopped on the bed, nestling himself next to the man. "Good night, Bruce."

M'gann closed the book and looked around. Surely there was a way out of here. There had to be. Or else they were stuck. She floated upwards above the shelves to see if there was something they were missing. But going higher revealed nothing of value. M'gann was beginning to get worried. Were they trapped in here among Robin's memories?


	9. Frozen

Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. Enjoy!

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><p>They were stuck.<p>

There was no way out of the library. No door, no window, no anything. M'gann was constantly flying around the room to see if anything had changed. Time and time again, she was disappointed. The others thought the answers might be hidden somewhere in the library of memories. They opened and closed books, looking for some sort of clue as to the way out. Every single book had some type of memory in it, and they tried not to linger on any of them for too long. Conner, in his frustration, threw one of the books down on the floor. It opened when it fell on the floor, revealing the memory inside of it. Conner frowned and began to pick it up again, regretting his momentary outburst. But what he saw in the book made him pause.

Dick was sitting at a table, just across from the man. (Bruce, Conner thought he was called.) Both of them were picking at their breakfasts. Neither spoke. The situation was obviously awkward for the two of them, though Conner couldn't think of why.

"…so." Dick said suddenly. "Um…happy…" He paused, as if he were trying to remember how to say the next few words. "Happy…um…happy Father's Day."

Bruce looked up in mild surprise. "Thank you."

The young boy shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "You've done a lot for me…so…uh…thanks. I guess."

With a slight sigh, Bruce set down his silverware and looked at Dick. "I think we need to talk about some things. I appreciate the gesture, Dick. I do. But you don't have to. I know I'm never going to be able to replace your father. And I wouldn't want to. But I do want to be there for you whenever you need me. Ok?"

Dick nudged his food with his fork. "I know. I mean…I loved my dad…I still do. And my Uncle Rick. And I miss them both…" He looked back up toward Bruce. "But, I mean, to everyone else you're my dad now. To me…you're like…another uncle. Either way you're part of my family now. And…I'm part of yours." Suddenly Dick paused and looked startled. "I _am_ part of your family now…right?"

This brought a small smile to Bruce's face. "Of course you are, Dick. And tomorrow I'm going to introduce you to the rest of the League. I think it's about time that Robin went public."

"The League? As in…like…Superman and Wonder Woman and…?" Dick asked in awe.

"All of them." Bruce replied with another small smile.

"Oh. My. God." Dick set his hands on the table and leaned back in his seat. "You mean…for real? I get to meet them? _In person_?"

Bruce nodded. "In person."

A wide grin spread across Dick's face. "This…is _awesome_…"

Conner shut the book and put it back on to the shelf with a slight frown. This Bruce person had to be Batman, he figured. And the only family Robin seemed to have, as Conner had yet to see a memory that involved anyone else. He'd always had a sneaking suspicion that Robin was Batman's son. (Or his nephew.) After all, almost everyone on the team was related to their mentor in some way. Knowing that Robin had a father he was apparently close to sent a slight pang of jealousy through Conner.

"Well, we're screwed." Artemis said as she sat on the floor, pulling her knees to her chest. "There isn't a way out of here. We're trapped in Robin's mind."

M'gann landed beside her, trying not to let her distress show. "There has to be a way out of here…" Without thinking about it, she looked at Wally. For whatever reason, the speedster seemed to know more about Robin than all of them combined. Perhaps it made sense. They'd been best friends long before the team was founded. "What do you think we should do?"

The speedster paused, apparently surprised at being asked for advice. "Well…um. I'm not sure. My only idea is to do what we've been doing, looking through the memories to see if…" The sentence trailed off as a thought entered his head. "Rob once mentioned to me that the entrance to the Batcave was hidden in his house. Maybe that still is true in his head…? I mean, the way out might still be where the entrance would be. And maybe it's somewhere in the library."

"You think that'll work?" Artemis asked skeptically.

"Do you have a better idea?" Wally looked at her with a slight frown.

"No." Artemis admitted.

So their search continued. They moved shelves, ran their hands over the walls in search of any invisible openings. Conner went back to his idea of pulling the books off the shelves to see if that opened the way. As the books fell on the floor and lay cracked open, the sound of the voices grew louder so that it seemed as if an entire crowd was in the room.

"…_I can't help it…"_

"…_you think he can handle this and he can't…"_

"…_you'll know when you're ready…"_

"…_some things take time, Master Bruce…"_

The sound of it was driving M'gann insane. She couldn't think. All she could hear was the voices. The voices of Robin's memories. All of them whispering and talking and screaming at her. She floated above the bookshelves and covered her ears. With all of this noise she couldn't concentrate on anything. Everything was merging together in her head. Dick's voice, Bruce's voice, everyone's voices, they became one thing. One thing crying at her, _screaming_ at her…M'gann squeezed her eyes shut.

And then it stopped.

For a moment, she thought Robin was dead. The silence was eerie. When she looked down, all of the books were back on their shelves. They weren't even whispering anymore. The paintings had stopped moving. She noticed the possible cause: they had two new arrivals.

"Kaldur!" Conner cried in surprise, breaking the sudden silence. Their team leader slowly got to his feet. Everyone stopped to look at the man who had arrived with him. Bruce Wayne. Batman.

M'gann slowly sank to the floor. Her throat felt tight. "I…I sucked you two in, didn't I? I'm so sorry-"

"No, M'gann, we let you pull us in." Bruce replied. "We have set for Martian Manhunter to return, but there is no telling when he will be back. When he arrives, he will awake you. In turn, the rest of you will wake as well." Bruce looked around the room at the quiet team.

"But…what about Robin?" Wally stepped forward. "_He _won't wake up."

"If we do not succeed in finding the root of the problem and fixing it before Martian Manhunter returns, he will not." Bruce told them. The group looked at each other, not sure how they felt about this. Not only this, but they weren't sure how to act in front of Bruce. Obviously he assumed they knew his identity after rummaging in his sidekick's mind. (They did.) But it didn't make them any less uncomfortable. While the team looked at him silently, Bruce surveyed the room. There was a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.

"We've been looking for a way out of this room…" M'gann said tentatively. "The entrance vanished, and there's no exit."

"Not surprising." Bruce replied. He began walking down the rows of silent books. After a few moments of hesitation, the team followed him.

They followed him to the opposite end of the room. One of the paintings was now frozen in place. Bruce studied it briefly. In the painting, he was sitting across from a nine-year-old Dick at the dinner table. Dick's silverware and food were untouched. The young boy was staring down at his lap. Bruce was looking at him curiously, his mouth slightly open in the beginnings of a question. The team didn't know the significance of it. Bruce gave no indication as to what it meant. He simply frowned and pushed on a marble bust that was situated just below the painting. The bust's head bent all the way back. The nearby wall space rippled like water and melted away. A dark, cave-like hallway was revealed.

"Well, we were on the right track." Wally said as Bruce began to lead them down the hall. "Kind of."

xxxx

The tunnel was dark and damp, yet M'gann wasn't frightened by it. She could sense that Robin didn't mind areas like this. In fact they brought him an odd sense of comfort. Having Bruce nearby helped as well. M'gann was beginning to grasp at what sort of feelings Robin had for his adoptive father. There was intense love and gratitude, as well as a drive to make him proud. Yet at the same time, there was a desire to keep certain things from him. M'gann couldn't figure that out. Everything she felt was just 'radiation' in a sense. None of these feelings were coherent. They were just effects from having certain people in his mind. She had forged a connection with Robin's subconscious when she'd ventured into it, allowing her to tap into feelings that even he didn't understand.

As they walked, she glanced at Wally. He was walking just behind her. As she turned her thoughts towards him, she felt what Robin felt when he was near Wally. The first thing that hit her was trust. Immense trust. Around Wally, Robin could be himself. He could be a kid without someone frowning at him or rolling their eyes. M'gann turned her attention towards Kaldur now, curiosity building.

Respect. Friendship. Almost…brotherly in a sense.

Artemis' turn. M'gann glanced back at her.

Respect. A small amount of…pride? Some sympathy…

Conner was next.

M'gann was startled when she was overcome by a feeling of immense caution. Robin wasn't sure he could trust Conner? Why? The next feeling, slightly secondary, was sympathy. She couldn't tell what it stemmed from. M'gann couldn't discern why Robin had sympathy for Artemis, either. All of the feelings came without explanation. They were simply that: feelings.

The Martian girl withdrew herself to think this over. In the timespan of a few minutes, she learned exactly what Robin thought of all of her teammates as well as Batman himself. It occurred to her she could probably easily learn what Robin felt about her as well. But M'gann shied away from that thought. Everyone has a secret fear that their friends dislike them deep down. What if it proved true? M'gann was pushing the idea away when suddenly she was blinded by a white light. She held her arms over her face to shield her eyes.

After a few long moments, her eyes adjusted. They'd stepped into a room that reminded her of a hospital. The lights were bright. Everything was blindingly white and extremely clean. And it was cold. Very cold. Frost was crusted on to the window, obscuring whatever might be outside. There were four people in the room, all frozen and covered with ice. There was a man in the hospital bed with black hair. His eyes were closed and an IV was in his arm. Dick was on his knees at the side of his bed, his face frozen in a sob. Bruce and an older man were in the doorway. Their expressions were solemn.

"What in the world…" Artemis murmured under her breath. "What is going on here?"

Kaldur rubbed his arms in an attempt to warm himself. Their breath floated up in misty clouds. "It is not our place to question."

Bruce frowned at the scene. His eyes were on Dick, frozen and crying. He led the team out without saying a word.


	10. Darker Sides

Second-to-last chapter!

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><p>The hospital room led them to a rather normal-looking hallway that seemed to be part of the manor. Each of the teens looked to Bruce to guide the way. This was, after all, based on his home. Bruce looked around briefly. He seemed to get his bearings and began leading them down the hall. When they were halfway down, however, the floor began to shake.<p>

"_I WANT HIM DEAD!"_

Dick's voice echoed around them. Bruce put one hand on the wall to steady himself. Artemis was thrown off balance and fell on to Wally. Kaldur knelt down to keep from being thrown on to his side.

"_Master Richard, calm yourself-"_

A new voice appeared. This one was strange to them and had a slight British accent.

"_NO! I WANT HIM TO DIE!"_

The hall shook once more. Bruce's voice began to echo around them as well.

"_Dick, I know you're angry. But-"_

"_TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS! THAT WAS HE ASKED FOR!" _

"Come on!" Bruce shouted at them. He began rushing down the hall, somehow managing to keep on his feet. The hallway was quickly changing. The lights began to burst, dying in a shower of sparks before giving way to shadow. Artemis was still lying on top of Wally. He picked her up and dashed down the hallway. Kaldur and Conner followed after them.

"_Do you know how much that is per person! TWO THOUSAND! That's all they were worth to him!" _

M'gann flew after her team, frightened by the fury in Robin's voice. She knew she was listening to a memory. Yet the anger was still there. Something in the past had made Robin furious. And he still felt that way. Bruce threw open one of the doors and let the children hurry in before him. After M'gann flew through, he slammed the door shut behind her.

"What the heck was that?" Conner demanded as he gestured towards the door.

"It…it had something to do with the person who killed his family." M'gann said quietly. She lowered herself on to the floor and looked towards Bruce. "Didn't it?"

He hesitated, then nodded. "It was revealed at his trial that he asked for a certain amount of money or else. Robin was very…upset."

"That sounded like homicidal rage. Not 'upset.'" Artemis grumbled as she looked down.

"What happened to him? The man that killed them?" M'gann asked as she stared at Bruce. She had seen Robin's family members in his memories. His parents, his cousin, his aunt and uncle. They seemed like decent people and a good family. Perhaps it was just Robin's emotions seeping into her mind, but she felt angry that someone would destroy a young boy's life for ten thousand dollars.

Bruce didn't respond. He simply said, "We should keep moving."

The room they'd gone into was empty, save for a staircase that led down into the darkness. Bruce led their descent and the others followed without hesitation. But M'gann hung back. This darkness wasn't like the darkness of the cave tunnel. It wasn't comforting or safe. Something told her that this stairway led to a dangerous part of Robin's mind. But the others were looking at her and M'gann had no choice but to follow.

Her sense of foreboding only grew as M'gann walked down the stairs. The farther they went, the more M'gann began to notice a sickly rotting smell. She hoped she wasn't the only one who smelled it. But if she wasn't, no one else said a word. They just kept moving farther and farther into the darkness. No one spoke. M'gann didn't think anyone even breathed. All that could be heard or felt was an oppressive silence. Anytime someone tried to speak, the silence smothered their words into nothingness.

Finally the stairs seemed to reach an end. The ground underneath their feet leveled out. But the darkness and the smell didn't let up at all.

Artemis was the first to speak out. "Ok, is there any way we can get some light in here? Because I_ really_ don't want to-"

As if on cue, a group of lights came on overhead. They looked similar to the fluorescent lights seen in hospitals. Bright, white, rectangular, and too clean. The walls and floor contrasted against the hygienic lights. They were smeared with dirt and the paint was peeling from them. Cobwebs hung where the ceiling and the wall connected. The floor was spotted with dried blood and greasy black feathers. Each of the teens glanced at each other warily. Something about their surroundings and the rotten smell set them on edge. Bruce looked perturbed. Yet he said nothing and continued to lead them down the hall. The tense silence still hung in the air. M'gann wrapped her arms around herself, expecting some monster to leap from its hiding place and send them screaming back down the hall. Conner moved to comfort her, but she shied away from him and continued walking on her own.

The farther they went, the more it seemed that they were getting closer to something. The amount of feathers on the ground increased. The blood, which had been dried and stale, was now turning into fresh crimson smears across the walls and the floor. Eventually they came to a scratched, beaten door. Fresh blood was congealed along the bottom of it in a dark red puddle.

"…so, who's up for turning around?" Wally asked, breaking the silence.

The team seemed to breathe a sigh of relief that someone had finally spoken. Artemis said, "I think Wally's got the right idea."

"This appears to be the only way through…" Kaldur said hesitantly. They looked to Bruce for the final decision.

After a moment of thought, he set his hand on the doorknob. Each of the teens braced themselves as the door opened.

The door revealed dark room. In the center of it was a small, hunched figure. M'gann judged it to be about half of her own size. It seemed almost child-like in demeanor. A rush of sympathy hit her and she floated towards it. The thing seemed to be quivering with pain. She heard a gasping cough- scarily similar to the one she'd heard from previous incarnations of Robin's personality- and saw a small bit of blood. M'gann moved to set her hand on its shoulder comfortingly.

The thing shrieked inhumanly and backed away from her. The team jumped and assumed attack formations on instinct. A fluorescent light began to flicker on and cast the room in dim light. The area was in a state of disarray. The furniture was torn and tossed. Black feathers and blood littered the floor. And at the center of it stood the thing. It looked a bit like Robin, only frailer and smaller. Patches of its body were covered in tufts of greasy black plumage. Instead of fingernails it had large, black claws like talons. Blood dripped from lacerations on its wings and across its body. But its eyes were the worst. Large, round, beady, and jet black.

"What...the…" Artemis pressed her back to the wall.

M'gann stared at it in horror. How could something so terrible live in Robin's mind? For a moment, it was a stand-off. The creature stared at them. They stared back. Then it went right for M'gann. She raised her hands to defend herself, but there was no need. Bruce tackled it to the ground and pinned it before she had time to blink. The creature seemed to revolt against Bruce's very touch. It continued to shriek in that inhuman way and writhe. When he let it go, there were deep cuts where his hands had held it down. The creature retreated to a corner of the room. Perhaps it was just her imagination but it looked…slightly smaller now.

"What is it?" Conner asked as they edged past it. He was glaring at the thing, keeping close to M'gann in case it tried to attack her again.

"Not sure." Bruce responded. "My guess is that's Robin's dark side."

Robin's dark side? M'gann thought back to the outburst they'd heard in the hall. She'd never thought of Robin having a dark side…but everyone did. Didn't they?

Bruce opened a door that was partially hidden in the shadows. To their relief, nothing grotesque was hidden behind this door. Instead they found only a staircase that went up. They hurriedly climbed the steps and were let out into a normal-looking hallway. They let Bruce look around for a moment. He said, "This is the floor where we sleep."

At once, all eyes looked towards Wally. He was the one that had led them towards the top of house where Robin slept. Now it was time to see if his theory proved correct. Was Robin here? Or was the end of their strange journey meant to continue on? This seemed to run through everyone's minds as they looked into their teammates' eyes. No one wanted to move. If they checked, they would know. And no one wanted to be told that- after everything they'd been through- it still wasn't enough.

"Are you ready?" Bruce seemed confused that the team was so tense. Was he sure that Robin was here? Or was did he just not know their theory? Suddenly no one could recall telling him.

"We're ready." Kaldur answered confidently for the team.

Bruce opened the first door and peered into it briefly. It looked like a normal, well-kept bedroom. His bedroom, M'gann suddenly realized. Bruce closed the door when he decided there was nothing of importance in there. Kaldur looked into the room across from his. It was normal as well and extremely clean. As M'gann looked into it, a distinct word came to mind. _Alfred_. This was Alfred's room, she guessed. Perhaps he was the elderly man that appeared in some of Robin's memories

The next room, an study-type room, was also normal. The room across from that was Robin's room.

It was different than M'gann expected. It was very big. The bed was large and covered with blue and white sheets, but it seemed small compared to the rest of the room. There was a large bookcase shoved against one wall. It was filled with different titles and items. A black laptop sat on a desk. A few things were littered on the floor. Tools, pieces of hardware, equipment that had malfunctioned and was in the process of being fixed. There was a poster for a circus act called the Flying Graysons over his bed. Other things were tacked to the walls. Newspaper articles about Batman and Robin, papers of research on criminals…but the room still had a definite open feeling to it. An emptiness.

"Normal." M'gann reported quickly before closing the door. That meant that had one door left on the hall. The sitting room.

Wally moved forward. The team looked towards him. He nodded once, then opened the door.


	11. Time

Hey guys! This is the last chapter of Circus Dreams; but don't worry. I'm already working on a new story that centers around the whole team.

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><p>The room was not, by any means, normal.<p>

It was large and spacious with bookshelves pressed against the wall. In the center of the room was an enormous golden birdcage. Locked inside of it was Robin. He dressed in civilian clothes and was lying on his side. One of his arms was slipped through the bars and hung limply. His skin was ashen gray. He was breathing, but it was labored and gasping. His eyes were closed. M'gann was hit with the realization that this was what she had been looking for. This was Robin's consciousness.

"…he looks bad." Artemis said, her voice shocked.

"But we have found him." Kaldur replied. He felt relief that they had found Robin before Martian Manhunter returned to wake them. "That is what is important."

Bruce moved forward without a word. M'gann felt that after all she'd been through, she should help to bring him back into the waking world. She watched Bruce reach through the bars and gently pull Robin out of the cage. The bars were large and spaced widely enough for him to slip him through. M'gann wondered why Robin hadn't left the cage himself. But perhaps he was too sick, too injured. Robin's adoptive father set him down on the ground. The boy took another gasping breath, but didn't wake.

The team moved over cautiously and knelt down beside Robin. Wally frowned, concerned. For a moment they each wondered if they would be able to wake him up at all.

"Robin," M'gann said gently, "Dick…you need to wake up." She reached forward and brushed his bangs across his forehead, an odd motherly gesture that surprised even her. "Wake up…"

Wally joined in. "Yeah, Rob. Kind of don't want to be stuck in your head for the rest of my life."

The other team members spoke, softly trying to wake him. Bruce squeezed his hand. "Dick, I will lose all respect for you if you quit now."

It was as if someone had said the magic words. Robin's eyes opened. And suddenly everything disappeared.

xxxx

Robin became aware of pain all across his body. His arms, his chest, his legs. What happened? He couldn't remember. Slowly he opened his eyes. For whatever reason he didn't recognize the room. Robin's heart jumped into his throat. Was he in a hospital? God, he hated hospitals. _Hated_ them. In his mind, hospitals were places where the people you loved went to die. But then he saw Red Tornado standing guard in the corner. Through the open door he saw Red Arrow speaking with his former mentor in hushed tones. The whole place had the distinct feeling of a sickroom. Slowly he realized, with horror, it was _his_ sickroom.

Robin sat up with great effort. Everything screamed in protest, but he ignored the pain. Red Arrow and Green Arrow looked over at him from the doorway.

"I see M'gann has been successful in her efforts." Red Tornado said.

"…what?" Robin glanced around the room. He was shocked to see his entire team lying in beds around him. Most of them did not look very hurt or sick. Some of them had casts or slings or burns…but nothing too crippling. So why were they in here too? Robin was startled- and extremely frightened- to see Bruce in one of the beds as well. What was going on here? "What's happening? Why are they…what am I…"

"The disarming of the weapon went awry, causing an explosion." Red Tornado explained. "Your teammates were injured, but you were the closest and took the brunt of the blow. You were in critical condition when the team arrived back at Mount Justice, and Aqualad was forced to resuscitate you shortly after the explosion."

Critical condition? Resuscitate? Robin stared at him in shock. But, slowly, the memories came back…

He'd been disarming the bomb without any problem. And then suddenly everything stopped working. The machine began a short countdown to self-destruct. Robin had managed to yell, "GET DO-" And that was all he got out. He'd crossed his arms over his face in time. That kept him from getting any burns on his face. But his forearms had been badly burned. He remembered pain, and an odd sensation…and then nothing.

"What about-"

"Robin! You're awake!" Suddenly M'gann was up, climbing out of bed. She hurried over and hugged him tight. A sharp stab of pain went through his body. He cried out and M'gann released him hurriedly. "Sorry, sorry! I'm just…I'm so happy…I thought…"

The other team members were climbing out of their beds. And, Robin was happy to see, Bruce was getting up too.

"Alright, everyone out." Bruce said firmly. "Robin needs to rest. You can talk to him later." He glanced at M'gann. "I'll explain everything."

Reluctantly, the rest of the team left. Robin watched Red Tornado leave behind them. The door closed and he began to speak. "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened, I thought I had the weapons situation under control and-"

Bruce held up his hand and Robin stopped talking. "Relax. Lay down. You've been in a coma for a few weeks. You shouldn't be exerting this much energy." He set a gentle hand on Robin's shoulder and eased him back down. "Now…you were under for a week or two when M'gann got an…idea. There is a practice on Mars where trained individuals will enter the minds of the unconscious and bring them back into the waking world. The team and M'gann were adamant that it was at least tried, and I allowed it."

The weight of his words began to sink in. M'gann had been inside his head…suddenly his heart began to beat faster. How much had she seen in there? "Why…why did you let her…?"

"Because I was afraid." Bruce said bluntly. "I thought we were going to lose you. Something had to be done."

All he could do was lay there and look up at Bruce. Bruce? Afraid? That had to violate some law of nature.

"After a few weeks, you almost died. Your heart stopped. Kid Flash saved you and M'gann, who would have most likely perished if your mind crumbled around her." Bruce continued on without missing a beat. "M'gann accidentally pulled in Conner, Artemis, and Kid Flash in a moment of weakness. The League then began to debate the safety of this mission. It was decided we would send for Martian Manhunter to come wake M'gann, thus waking your teammates. But Kaldur and I also went under until, at least, Martian Manhunter returned. We had to try."

Not just M'gann. All of them. Everyone on his team saw his deepest thoughts, fears…

"What…what did they see?" Robin asked. His voice was quavering and he couldn't understand why.

"Not much…the manor. Our identities are out the window; but that can't be helped." Bruce looked him in the eye. "They saw your uncle…and…that's it. M'gann, obviously, saw far more. It would not surprise me if she knows your entire history at this point."

Robin got the feeling Bruce was holding something back, but he didn't press. He was too tired. Whatever the aftermath of this would be, he could deal with it after a nice long nap. His eyes slipped closed. Before he fell asleep he felt Bruce squeeze his hand. Robin returned it and then fell into a deep sleep.

xxxx

It was another three days before Robin was deemed well enough for the team to visit. M'gann decided to see him alone. She felt that she needed to be honest about what she had seen and speak to him about it. So she slipped into Robin's room early in the morning after he'd eaten his breakfast.

"Oh. Hi, M'gann." Robin's tone was odd as she walked in. Bad sign. She came over and sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Hi." M'gann said shyly. She looked Robin over. There was an awkward silence in between the two of them. M'gann struggled to find a way to start the conversation. Finally she managed, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" Robin asked, staring at her.

"For…everything. You've been through a lot…and I'm sorry I went into your mind." M'gann still couldn't believe half of what she'd seen. She thought about Robin's family and shuddered briefly. Never- not in her wildest dreams- could she have predicted something like that. Whenever she pondered over Robin's past, she just assumed that Batman was his father and had been raised to continue the 'family business.' She said again, "I'm sorry."

"M'gann, you saved my life." Robin said with a slight frown. "I was going to die if you didn't."

"Still…some of the things I saw…" M'gann gulped. "What…what were those skeletons?"

Robin seemed to sit up a little straighter at the mention of the word. "Skeletons? With the broken bones…?"

The Martian girl nodded. "I ran into them twice…"

"I…I used to have nightmares. Reoccurring ones, right after the…incident. The skeletons were usually in them." Robin explained. He stared down at his lap, slightly uncomfortable. He'd never discussed his nightmares with anyone but the therapist Bruce had forced him to go to until he was ten. "The therapist said it was survivor's guilt. My family…they always did our finale without a net. And they never let me join in because I was so young…but that night my parents were actually considering it, and decided not to let me at the last minute." The young boy swallowed hard. "I could have been out there with them. And for a long time, I thought I should have been…"

His teammate stared at him with sympathy. "I saw some of your memories…about your family. They seemed like good people. They didn't deserve that…and neither did you."

Robin didn't respond for a few moments. Finally he said, "It's kind of a relief. Not having to cover up my identity anymore. I told Wally without Batman knowing, but that's it." He met her eyes and managed a small smile. "So what was it like? Inside my head?"

M'gann regaled him with descriptions of what she had seen. Sometimes Robin laughed or smiled. Other times he sat very quietly and listened with a somber look on his face. It felt odd, describing someone's own mind to them. But she supposed that Robin couldn't get access to his subconscious that easily and look around for himself. When she told him about the frozen room, Robin went stiff. M'gann said, "What was that, anyway?"

"My uncle…he survived the fall. It left him paralyzed from the neck down." Robin explained slowly. "And for a while it looked like he might pull through…but when I was ten he died. I just remember being in that freaking hospital, crying…it felt like everything was freezing and I couldn't make sense of anything. It was like losing my family all over again. He was all I had left, and then…"

She didn't question him about anything else after that. M'gann could guess the meanings. But it wasn't fair for her to force Robin to relive those memories while he was recovering.

xxxx

Their teammates' rehabilitation and training began the next month. Dick insisted he was well enough to participate, but was restricted to doing simple tasks. M'gann and Conner were the only ones who had not been badly injured and continued their training as normal. The team did their best not to mention whatever they'd seen inside of Dick's head. But the mood between them had definitely changed.

"I've lost a lot of flexibility." Dick grumbled. He was standing on his hands, trying to do a split at the same time. Usually it would have been easy for him. But after so many weeks of being injured and bedridden, it was difficult.

"Don't push yourself, Dick." Kaldur admonished him gently.

"I'm not." Dick replied. It still gave him a start whenever one of his teammates called him by his name. It wasn't something he was used to yet. The boy straightened his legs in the air and then dipped back into a backbend. Usually it didn't hurt at all. But now there was a painful tug towards his lower back. He gritted his teeth and flopped down. "Ok, _ow_."

Kaldur walked over and offered him a hand. He helped his friend up and smiled kindly. "Have patience, my friend. Your skills will return to you in time."

"I don't have time." Dick said with a slight frown.

"Of course you do. You have plenty of time." Kaldur told him. He smiled again and walked off to start his sparring match with Conner.

As Dick began his stretches again- more cautiously this time- M'gann floated over. Dick looked down and avoided her eyes. He still wasn't sure what she'd seen exactly. She could have easily left something out to spare his feelings. Dick hoped she would pass by to go watch Conner. But instead she sat down beside him.

"Dick, are you mad at me?" she asked quietly.

Dick looked towards her, surprised. "No, of course not."

"You haven't been talking to me. Since…you know." M'gann stared at him with wide, worried brown eyes. "I saw a lot of stuff and…I just want to tell you that it doesn't make me dislike you at all. It made me respect you. You've been through so much…and…"

"I'm not mad at you, M'gann. I guess it's just kind of_…unsettling_ that you guys saw everything in my head…" Dick explained. "It's an idea I'll have to get used to."

M'gann nodded in understanding. "Do you…remember anything from it?"

The younger boy shook his head. "My dreams have been weird ever since, though. Sometimes you guys are there. Though I think other times I've been dreaming of Mars. And these white monster things." He didn't notice how M'gann's breath caught in her throat. Dick shrugged. "Maybe your mind left something behind?"

"Yeah…maybe." M'gann said, looking away. In her mind she could hear the mischievous little Robin's voice: _"You don't think your secrets are safe, do you? You can see us, and we can see you. Give and take. Quid pro quo, Clarice. It works both ways."_

All of her secrets were hidden in Robin's subconscious now.

"I'm sure it's nothing." M'gann told him quickly. She smiled at him. "Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah, I'm going to be fine." Dick returned the smile. "I don't have anything to hide anymore."

M'gann wished she could stay the same. Even after all of this, she still couldn't bring herself to reveal her own secrets.


End file.
